The purpose of preaching is to understand your purpose as best as possible and to realize it in your life and ministry.
1 In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the wilderness of Judea.
2 and says: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he of whom Isaiah the prophet spoke: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 Now John himself had clothing made of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him.
6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 Now when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You generation of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance
9 And do not think to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
10 Now the axe is laid to the root of the trees: every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I; whose sandals I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
14 But John held him back, saying, I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allows him to go.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, he went up straightway out of the water: and behold, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.
17 And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(Matthew 3:1-17)
There is a common saying that "We are the creators of our own happiness." If that were true, we would see many more happy people than lonely ones. What's wrong with that statement, and why is it better to leave the question of our happiness in more reliable and powerful hands?
1. Man is too complex a creation for him/herself to be able to make themselves happy. The Bible says that man is "wonderfully and wonderfully made." This speaks not only of his unique purpose and the enormous possibilities inherent in him/her, but also of his/her complexity and versatility. It is very difficult to say that a sinful and fickle man/woman will be able to build his/her own happiness and will remain satisfied with his/her situation throughout his/her life.
2. There is too much pain, violence and death in this world for a person to remain human, for him to preserve his purpose and remain involved in service despite the events and twists and turns of his own life. He needs significant and strong external support.
3. We may not see the overall, universal plan behind the events of our own lives and ministries because we have a short lifespan and a “small overview.” We need external adjustments to bring our lives and ministries into unison with the general church and public ministry of Jesus Christ in this world. We need an understanding of His priorities and tasks for this period of history. The perception of only our purpose can be much narrower than the perception of God, and we need to have a “big picture” in order to fit into the general church life and influence a larger number of people.
The perception and understanding of our purpose and our life and ministry may be substantially less than we need to effectively serve God.
How can we align our lives and our ministry with God's requirements, and why is this important to us?
Some may doubt the existence of God, but man has too much potential to be limited to his own selfish and egocentric goals – satisfying his own needs, achieving his own goals, and ensuring his own well-being. God wants the horizons of our life and service to be constantly expanding.
If we look at examples from the Holy Scriptures, we will see examples of "expanding influence." Noah obeyed God and built the ark, today all the inhabitants of the earth are his descendants.
Moses was obedient to God and fulfilled his destiny – giving birth to the state of Israel, laying the cultural and historical foundations of the entire Western civilization.
John the Baptist brought his ministry into line with God's requirements and was extremely successful.
The ministry of Jesus Christ was subordinate to the Father, and His whole life is an example of complete obedience to God.
This book is known as the Gospel of Matthew because it was written by the apostle of the same name. The style of the book is what you would expect from someone who was once a tax collector. Matthew shows great interest in record-keeping (18:23–24; 25:14–15). The book is extremely orderly and concise. Rather than writing chronologically, Matthew organizes this gospel around six themes.
As a tax collector, Matthew had a skill that made his job even more exciting for Christians. Tax collectors had to be able to take shorthand notes, which essentially meant that Matthew could record a person’s words as they spoke them, word for word. This ability means that the words of Matthew’s Gospel are not only inspired by the Holy Spirit, but must also be factual transcripts of some of Christ’s sermons. For example, the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in chapters 5–7, is almost certainly an accurate record of that great message.
The Gospel of Matthew was addressed to a greater extent to the Jews. It serves as a kind of bridge from the Old to the New Testament.
The Apostle Matthew wrote this book in the early days of the Church, probably around 50 AD. This was a time when most Christians were Jews, so Matthew's focus on the Jewish perspective in this Gospel is understandable.
Matthew tried to prove to the Jews that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. More than any other gospel, Matthew quotes from the Old Testament to show how Jesus fulfilled the words of the Jewish prophets. Matthew describes Jesus' descent from David in detail, and uses many forms of speech that were more natural to the Jews. Matthew's love and concern for his people is evident in his careful approach to telling the gospel story.
The story described in our passage took place on the banks of the Jordan River. From other passages in the Bible, we can see that it was a deserted, arid area, with thickets of reeds along the banks of the Jordan River.
Baptism for the forgiveness of sins was familiar to Jewish culture, but it was most often used to accept into Judaism proselytes who were not born Jews but chose to convert to Judaism as adults.
Matthew discusses the origins, birth, and early life of Christ in the first two chapters. The book then turns to the ministry of Jesus. The account of Christ's teaching is structured around such "points" as the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 through 7. Chapter 10 describes the mission and purpose of the disciples, chapter 13 is a collection of parables, chapter 18 discusses the Church, and chapter 23 begins a discourse on hypocrisy and the future. Chapters 21 through 27 describe the arrest, torture, and execution of Jesus. The final chapter describes the Resurrection and the Great Commission.
Matthew's Gospel is closer to the genre of biography, but it gives more than a biography and description of a person's life. Matthew provides evidence that Jesus is indeed the chosen Messiah, and that He was the one promised in the Old Testament.
Outline of the Gospel of Matthew
A. Birth and Infancy (1:1 – 2:23)
B. Preparation for Ministry (3:1 – 4:25)
C. Sermon on the Mount (5:1 – 7:29)
D. Jesus Performs His Ministry (8:1 – 9:34)
E. The Mission of the Twelve (9:35 – 10:42)
F. Parables of the Kingdom (13:1-52)
G. Life in the Coming Kingdom (16:13 – 18:35)
H. The Road to Jerusalem (19:1 – 22:46)
I. Warnings of Judgment (23:1 – 25:46)
J. The arrest of Jesus, suffering, death (26:1 – 27:66)
K. Resurrection (28:1-20)
Our passage is in the second section. It lays the foundation for the entire ministry of Jesus Christ.
Jesus confirms the truth of John the Baptist's ministry and comes to him to be baptized.
The meaning of baptism for us is that Jesus shows humility before the Father and shows us an example for our lives – the need for obedience to God and the need for baptism.
The entire section B is of fundamental importance:
B. Preparation for Ministry (3:1 – 4:25)
1. John the Baptist (3:1-12)
2. The Baptism of Jesus (3:13-17)
3. The Temptation of Jesus (4:1-11)
4. Jesus begins to preach (4:12-17)
5. Jesus chooses His first disciples (4:18-22)
6. Jesus heals some of the sick (4:23-25)
In this section, as we see, the foundation of Jesus Christ's ministry is laid. He is baptized and tempted, begins to preach, and gathers His team.
1 In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the wilderness of Judea.
2 and says: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he of whom Isaiah the prophet spoke: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 Now John himself had clothing made of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him.
6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 Now when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You generation of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance
9 And do not think to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
10 Now the axe is laid to the root of the trees: every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I; whose sandals I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
14 But John held him back, saying, I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allows him to go.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, he went up straightway out of the water: and behold, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.
17 And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(Matthew 3:1-17)
The plan of our passage
I All the prophets came by the will of God, and John.
A John voices the meaning of his ministry
B It denotes who he is.
John announces the coming events
II. The circumstances of John's ministry
A The appearance resembled Elijah
B The diet was like Samson's
His ministry was successful, everyone was baptized.
III John was able to maintain spiritual vigilance
A He denounced the Pharisees and Sadducees
B There is no repentance without fruit
The Judgment of God is near
IV The Circumstances of Jesus' Ministry
A Will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire
B Will clean the threshing floor
He will gather the wheat and burn the straw
V The Union of Two Ministries
And Jesus comes to be baptized
In John speaks of the superiority of Jesus
Jesus commands to baptize Him.
D John sees a sign and hears a voice from heaven
This passage shows that Jesus' ministry was entirely subordinated to the will of the Father, and His purpose was to show sinful man the way to restoration to fellowship with God through water baptism and life and ministry in the local church.
So, we see that the ministry and life of John the Baptist were the preparation of the people of Israel for the coming of the promised Messiah. What conclusions can we draw for ourselves, for our lives and ministry?
1. Without God, our life has little meaning. Understanding one's own purpose is possible only through prayer of repentance, receiving forgiveness of sins from God, adoption and the opportunity to communicate with Him through prayer.
2. We may have vision and knowledge about our life, its purpose, and understanding at our level. This may not be enough to fulfill God's will in its entirety.
3. We need to maintain “spiritual vision” and be willing to bring our lives and ministry into line with God’s plan and the need to bring the Gospel message of salvation to as many people as possible.
May the Almighty bless you in your search for truth and in understanding your divine purpose.
With prayer, God's love and respect
Rustam Nasyrov.